More choice for over-55s
Latest statistics from UK Finance suggest that the later-life lending sector is growing in volume and broadening the variety of products available.
The trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector says that momentum is building in the later-life lending market. The proportion of mortgages (excluding equity release) taken out by over-55s increased from just over 5% in 2022 to 8% by 2025.
In October-December 2025, there was a 15% increase in the number of new non-equity release loans (41,100) advanced to borrowers over-55. The value of that lending for 2025 as a whole was up 20.5% on 2024, at £6.8 billion.
These figures include a 13% growth of retirement interest-only (RIO) mortgages compared to the same period in 2024, although the volume of equity release loans remained much higher.
An RIO works similarly to equity release, but with one crucial difference in particular:
- RIO mortgage. You commit to making monthly interest payments. The actual loan itself (the capital) is then typically repaid via the sale of the property when you pass away or move into long-term care.
- Equity release. You don’t have to commit to making interest payments (although that’s an option). Instead, the interest will usually build up on a compound basis and is paid back along with the loan itself when you pass away or move into long-term care. As with an RIO, this is usually done from the proceeds of selling your home.
Simon Webb of mortgage company LiveMore says: “It’s encouraging to see momentum building across other non-equity release later life lending products. This signals a broader shift in awareness, with the market increasingly recognising the full spectrum of options available to older borrowers.
“While many older clients may have more complex finances, identifying the right solution is no longer the challenge it once was.”
